The last Brussels Briefing on “The Water we eat – Challenges for ACP countries in times of scarcity” took place on April 13. Around 100 ambassadors, policy-makers, NGO representatives and member state delegates followed the discussions in the Walter Hallstein room of the Berlaymont, European Commission. Another 127 viewers followed discussions through a live webstream and participated via email and Twitter.

A 30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions is possible by 2020 if Europe meets its efficiency targets, according to the maths used by Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard. But no-one in the Commission will say this publicly for two reasons.

A new European Commission report demonstrates the current limitations in assessing the socio-economic implications of cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the European Union. Specifically, the report to the European Parliament and the Council, which is based on information principally provided by Member States, reveals that the existing information is often statistically limited and that it is frequently based on already preconceived ideas about GMO cultivation.

The British government is "highly likely" to block European Commission proposals for a carbon tax contained in a widely-circulated draft version of the Energy Taxation Directive, EU diplomatic sources said on 12 April.